Batman #13 Review

It is quite rare nowadays to be able to give somebody who doesn't read comic books, a single issue in order to get them interested in the medium. However, I have already pushed this on to one of my friends and his feelings towards this book are pretty much identical to mine on this one. It is incredible. There is absolutely no denying it, the return of The Joker has certainly lived up to the hype.

Scott Snyder has consistently been knocking it out of the park writing Batman in the New 52. In fact, off the top of my head I really do not think that there has been a bad issue. This is the reason so many people have been looking forward to this new take on Batman's mightiest foe. If there is one current writer at the moment who I would feel comfortable in writing a Joker story, then he is the man. Although this is only the first issue of a story arc that is running all the way into February, the foundations and the tone have already been set in this issue.

The scene where The Joker infiltrates the GCPD headquarters to steal back his face is executed to absolute perfection. There is a real horror story vibe about it. This is done not only by The Joker's actions, but also the wonderful art, that builds up a real sense of tension and claustrophobia. Seeing Gordon shining the light on areas that The Joker has just been, killing of his men one by one, is something right out of a horror movie. However, it works so well, and really feels like the perfect introduction for everybody's favourite psycho.  Add Gordons' facial expressions into the mix and you really feel like you understand just how terrible an ordeal this is for him, as you feel The Joker closing in on him.

The Joker manipulating a man into reading out some of his deadly intentions on live TV is also something that is not new. However, it feels so much like something that he would do ( and probably has done in the past ) that you just have to embrace it. The way he saw off the Mayor's men when everybody thought he was going to the kill the Mayor himself, also showed a stroke of genius that we know he is capable of. What was also interesting here was the different effect the famous toxin had on these individuals faces who died at the hands of The Joker. It added to the feel that Scott Snyder is trying to get across. Yes, he is The Joker, but he has come back as something more terrifying than we have ever seen. This was confirmed by the appearance of Harley Quinn as she shared these thoughts with Batman.

It is not quite clear what The Joker's true intentions are just yet. He described going after everybody associated with Batman at one stage in the book, as well as the title of the arc also nodding towards something similar to this. I do think this will take centre stage in the story, but I also get the feeling that there will be a lot more typical Joker mayhem that will have a larger affect on the world he is written in. He may have even got his hands on one of Batman's associates right at the end of the book, so we may even get a key death which will certainly shake things up a bit. However, it may be one I am not quite ready for.

The back up story featuring The Joker and Harley Quinn, showing Harley's first interaction with her idol when he returned from his brief hiatus was also a great little read. It showed how she got involved in the events in the main story, and confirmed just how maniacal this Joker seems to be.

I have only received this book today, so I have been hiding from all reviews on this book all week and I am still yet to have read one. I was also slightly worried that I might be left feeling disappointed, even though I have total faith in the team of Scott Snyder and Gregg Capullo considering their portfolio. However, I never had any need to worry, this is just fantastic. It is the story that a lot of Batman fans having been waiting months for, and even one issue in, it looks like it is going to be a truly thrilling ride throughout.

Rating: 9.5 / 10